MDX/Armatech takes masters crown

 MDX/Armatech dethroned Cabalen/Wings Travel after recording an 84-79 victory in their winner-take-all title showdown in the UFO Inter-Organization Masters Basketball Docomo Pacific Cup 2011 on Thursday night at the TSL Sports Complex.

Free throw woes in the fourth quarter doomed Cabalen/Wings Travel’s chances for a repeat, while MDX/Armatech drew a balanced offense from its backcourt in the payoff canto to win this year’s championship.

Cabalen/Wings Travel went 2-for-16 from the foul line in the fourth period, missing six crucial charities in the last two minutes of the match. MDX/Armatech was ahead by only five, 82-77, with 2:10 left and Cabalen had several opportunities of tying or even taking the lead when it had three players stepping on the stripe in the ensuing plays.

However, Edsel Mendoza, Eric Atalig, and Edwin Santos muffed two free throws each. Earlier in the fourth, Mendoza was also 0-for-4 and Mike Cruz hit 2-for-4.

Cabalen/Wings Travel played the last 3:16 of the match without its main gunner Tony Diaz, who sustained a nasty cut on his left eyebrow after colliding with MDX’s Toto Banatasa in a loose ball play inside the paint.

With Diaz down and bleeding, Banatasa managed to wrestle the contested ball and made the undergoal stab plus a foul. Banatasa missed the bonus shot, but still gave MDX a 78-77 lead.

MDX made it an 82-77 count off Banatasa and Ferdie Tobias’ fastbreak baskets and Mendoza had a chance to move Wings Travel closer but faltered on his two free throw attempts. Next to troop to the foul line was Santos after a botched MDX play, but he too muffed the important charities.

Another MDX miss returned possession to Cabalen and Atalig was fouled on his putback, 1:14 left on the clock. Atalig suffered the same curse from the foul line, allowing MDX to retain the five-point lead, less than a minute left on the clock.

Cabalen was forced to give up fouls in the remaining seconds and MDX sealed the win when Art Trajano and Banatasa both went 1-for-2 from the 15-foot line.

James Abuy led MDX’s title win with his 20 markers, while Banatasa chipped in 14. Martin Moreno and Bernardo Montano added 10 each, while Tobias and Trajano combined for 15 markers.

Diaz left the match with a team-high 17 points, while Mendoza drilled 15, but was held to only one field goal in the fourth quarter. Santos also finished in double figures with 12, but he too was limited to one field goal in the payoff period.

Diaz scored seven straight markers at one point in the first period, lifting Cabalen to a 20-18 advantage. The game remained close after the first half with MDX this time in front, 43-42, after drawing eight markers from Banatasa in the second quarter.

Favor changed anew in the third, as Cabalen took a 66-61 lead, with the trio of Santos, Diaz, and Mendoza teaming up on offense.

Tobias started the fourth canto with a triple and from there MDX slowly worked its way back into the game and took the lead and the win, while Cabalen collapsed from the foul line.

MDX/Armatech 84 – Abuy 20, Banatasa 14, Moreno 10, Montano 10, Tobias 8, Trajano 7, Jinang 3, Canedo 2.

Cabalen/Wings Travel 79 – Diaz 17, Mendoza 15, Santos 12, Ocampo 10, Cruz 8, Palacios 5, Yalung 4, Verano 2, Atalig 2.

Scoring by quarters: 18-20, 43-42, 61-66, 84-79.